Case Study 3

In a mining forum, Manuel V. Pangilinan, the Chairman of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone
Company harped on the benefits of increasing investment on mining locally. He said that the Philippines
was the fifth most mineralized country in the world, and that it would cost more to import these
products, as opposed to producing them in the Philippines.

While the business tycoon’s argument makes economic sense, what is the actual cost of mining?
Consider the fish kill in Lake Bito, Leyte in 2012, caused by mine wastes from Nicua Mining Corporation.
How many fishermen lost their livelihood due to contaminated waters? Later that same year, Philex
Mining Corporation in Benguet discharged 20 million metric tons of tailing, which ran into the Balog and
Agno River systems, provider of water for agricultural irrigation and power-generation in Pangasinan.
While the mining company was levied a record-breaking fine of some PHP 1.034billion, was the amount
enough to rehabilitate the surroundings destroyed by mining? Deforestation is another inevitable result
of large-scale mining. As such, several private mining corporations included massive tree-planting
projects as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. But again, environment advocates are
left to wonder if this is enough to mitigate the damage brought about by this controversial industry.

Questions:

1.Our gadgets, laptops, and computers are made of parts that have been developed through mining.
Knowing the widespread use of mined products and materials, do you think the Philippine should
advocate mining?

2. Research on the mandates of government regulating agencies, such as the DENR, in the mining
industry. Do you think that these agencies are effective in the implementation of their regulations? Do
you have other suggestions to these agencies so that they can better monitor the mining activities of
big-scale companies?